Non-welded horizontal cable tray redirector

ABSTRACT

Improved design of cable tray redirector components speeds assembly and connection of cable trays. More efficiently manufactured, universal components needed throughout horizontal redirectors of a specific size and type cable tray run reduce the overall total items and cost of inventory. The improvement is in part the elimination of welding cable redirector components in favor of connecting the components with bolts and nuts in the field. The inventory and shipment of individual parts is substantially more efficient because the new components “nest” efficiently prior to assembly. Moreover, components are designed to minimize the number of bolts and nuts used without jeopardizing strength. The use of bolts and nuts to fasten the components also enables good electrical conductivity for effective electrical grounding of the assembled cable tray system.

TECHNOLOGY FIELD

This disclosure relates to cable trays in general and, in particular, tocomponents of cable trays that change the direction, or “redirect” acable tray. An example of a cable tray redirector is found in U.S. Pat.No. 8,573,409, which is incorporated herein in its entirety byreference.

BACKGROUND

Cable trays are devices that support electrical cables. The term“cables” is intended broadly to include fiber optic cables, pipes,conduit, wiring, tubing, and the like, which may deliver electrical andoptical signals, electricity, fluids, and data from one location toanother. Cable trays can make it easier to install cables, to facilitatethe connecting of cables, to locate and trace cables, and to replace,add or remove cables.

Plural cable tray components may be connected together to form runs. Theruns are usually elevated so that the cables they carry are out ofharm's way, and not an obstruction to people or vehicles and are wellabove standing water and stored items. It is often easier to install andtrace cables when they are in cable tray runs that are overhead thanwhen they are on the ground where they compete for floor space withvehicles, inventory, finished goods, and pedestrian pathways.

In many facilities, such as processing plants that include devices forinstrument control and monitoring, cables can be so numerous thatseveral tray runs may be required, some oriented in different directionsand at different elevations, perhaps changing direction repeatedly inorder to avoid walls, columns and other cable tray runs when proceedingto their various destinations in the facility.

Cable trays thus serve important purposes, particularly in plantsrequiring highly automated systems for monitoring and control such as,for example, office buildings, factories, warehouses, nuclearfacilities, power plants and refineries.

Thus, cable trays and the components used with cable trays need toenable designers to create cable tray runs that can reach theirdestination without interfering with other structures, and with theability to change direction as needed in order to get them to where theyare intended to go.

A cable tray redirector, or simply a “redirector”, as used herein,refers to a component of a cable tray run that changes the direction ofthe cable tray run in a horizontal plane. A redirector may enable someof the cables in a tray to change direction by 90 degrees, for example,as some cables in the same cable tray run may continue forward in theoriginal direction while others are directed in yet a third direction.

More easily assembled, robust in operation, and economical cable trayredirectors would be an advantage in cable tray system design,construction and use. Better redirectors might have little or no weldingrequirements, use the same connecting fasteners as are commonly used toconnect redirecting connectors to tray sections, and might be made of ametal that could be easily electrically grounded, not be bulky ordifficult to store, package and ship, and could be used in a widevariety of cable tray applications.

SUMMARY

According to its major aspects and briefly recited, herein is discloseda set of components that are used to assemble cable tray redirectorsthat are useful for redirecting cable tray runs. The components areconnected using the same bolts and nuts throughout, and which are usedin the present redirector kit to avoid welded joints or expensivemanufacturing processes. Welding takes time and may be unsuitable insome facilities, such as nuclear power plants and process facilities orwhere there are seismic restrictions because of concerns for stress andcorrosion. The components of the present redirectors are made ofmaterials that preserve electrical conductivity throughout any cabletray run, which makes electrical grounding easier. Also, the presentcable tray redirectors enable cable redirection to the left and to theright, or both, up to 90 degrees in a horizontal plane. In addition,unlike prior art redirectors, the major components of the present systemare designed to “nest”, which means that one component fits close toanother of the same kind so that storage and shipping volumes aregreatly reduced, requiring less warehouse, packaging or onsite space tomaintain inventory. The fasteners used to assemble components are allinterchangeable, too, so minimal numbers of part types need to bemaintained.

Current or known cable tray redirectors are fabricated as a weldment ora press formed metal, fiberglass or plastic product. The presentredirectors reduce costs by eliminating welding time and excessive costsof press-forming and drawing tools. The present redirector ismanufactured and assembled without welding.

A feature of the present disclosure is a redirector that connectsmechanically to straight tray sections. The present redirector requiresno welding for connection to cable tray sections. The present redirectorcomprises multiple components, which are assembled using the samefasteners that connect the redirector kit to straight tray sections,using fasteners common to cable tray construction. In fact, the samenumber and type of fasteners required to connect a prior art weldedredirector to cable trays is required for the assembly of the presentredirecting kit to cable trays. Welding is eliminated without adding thecost of material and time to assemble the present redirectors to cabletrays.

Those skilled in the construction and operation of cable trays andredirectors will appreciate these and other features and theiradvantages from a careful reading of the Detailed Description,accompanied by the following drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art cable tray redirector forredirecting the horizontal course of a cable tray run by 90-degrees;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another prior art cable tray redirectorfor redirecting the horizontal course of a cable tray run by 45-degrees;

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C, respectively, show perspective views of sectionsof a wide prior art cable channel tray (FIG. 3A), a narrow prior artcable channel tray (FIG. 3B); and a prior art L-shaped cable tray havingone wall (FIG. 3C), wherein each tray has at least one row of holes formounting clamps and guides to control the cables in the bed of therespective tray and for connecting tray sections and redirectors;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a horizontal 90-degree redirector base,according to an aspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 5A shows an elevation view and a perspective view of a 90-degreecurved flange fitting with connecting flanges for use with theredirector base shown in FIG. 4, according to an aspect of thedisclosure;

FIG. 5B shows a perspective view of a 90-degree diagonal straight flangefitting with connecting flanges for use with the redirector base shownin FIG. 4, according to an aspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 5C fitting, shows an elevation view and a perspective view of a90-degree curved flange fitting similar to FIG. 5A, but with offsetconnecting flanges for use with a narrow redirector connecting more thantwo trays, according to an aspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 5D shows a perspective view of a 90-degree curved flange fittingwith connecting flanges for use with an L-shaped tray redirector baseconnecting two L-shaped trays, according to an aspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 6A shows an exploded, perspective view of a 90-degree horizontalredirector with a curved flange fitting in position to be joined to itsbase, according to an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 6B shows an assembled, perspective view of the redirector of FIG.6A with a curved flange fitting set into position to be fastened to itsbase, according to an aspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 6C shows an assembled, perspective view of the redirector of FIG.6A with a curved flange fitting set into position and fastened to itsbase, according to an aspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 7A is a top perspective view of a 90-degree horizontal redirectorassembly with a curved flange fitting FIG. 5A, and two wide cable traysFIG. 3A bolted to the redirector base FIG. 4 and extending at rightangles with respect to each other, according to an aspect of thedisclosure;

FIG. 7B is an exploded, perspective, view of the horizontal redirectorbase of FIG. 4, with a curved flange fitting of FIG. 5A, with two widecable trays of FIG. 3A to be attached with bolts and nuts, according toan aspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 7C is a detail of the view shown in FIG. 7A showing the physicalrelationship between the curved flange fitting of FIG. 5A and theadjacent cable tray wall, according to an aspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 7D is a bottom perspective view of the 90-degree horizontalredirector assembly of FIG. 7A, according to an aspect of thedisclosure;

FIG. 8 is a, perspective view of a 90-degree horizontal redirectorassembly with diagonal straight flange fitting of FIG. 5B, and two widecable trays, according to an aspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a top perspective view of a horizontal T-redirector assemblywith the two curved flange fittings of FIG. 5A, and three wide cabletrays of FIG. 3A, fastened to a T-redirector base, according to anaspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective view of a T-redirector assembly for anarrow tray with one curved flange fitting of FIG. 5A, one curved flangefitting of FIG. 5C and three narrow cable trays of FIG. 3B fastened to aT-redirector base, according to an aspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a detailed view of the overlapping flanges of the two curvedflange fittings of the T-redirector of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12A is a perspective bottom view of a 90-degree redirector assemblywith one curved flange fitting of FIG. 5D, two L-shaped trays of FIG. 3Cfastened to a flat 90-degree redirector base, according to an aspect ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 12B is an exploded, perspective, top view of the horizontalredirector base, with the curved flange fitting of FIG. 5D, withL-shaped cable trays of FIG. 3C to be assembled with bolts and nuts,according to an aspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 13 shows a perspective view of a stack of ten horizontal 90-degreeconnectors FIG. 1, made according to the prior art;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a nested stack of ten 90-degree curvedflange fittings, according to an aspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a nested stack of ten 90-degreeredirector bases, according to an aspect of the disclosure; and

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a nested stack of ten T-redirectorbases, according to an aspect of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 show two prior art cabletray redirectors, and FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C show prior art cable traysthat can be attached to the prior art cable tray redirectors of FIGS. 1,2.

FIG. 1, in particular, shows a redirector 20 with a curved (90-degreearc) wall 24. FIG. 2 shows a redirector 28 with a curved (45-degree arc)wall 32. Both 90-degree redirector 20 and 45-degree redirector 28 havewelded corners 22, 30, respectively, and welded inside flanges 24, 32.

Cable trays of various widths, such as those shown in the three priorart examples of FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C, can be attached to either end of acompatible 90-degree redirector or 45-degree redirector using therequired number of bolts per cable tray. Wide cable trays such as thoseshown in FIG. 3A can be attached to either end of 90-degree redirector20 or 45-degree redirector 28 using four bolts per cable tray asrequired. The choice of cable tray will depend on the number and sizesof cables the tray is intended to carry. For example, a wide tray 36 asshown in FIG. 3A would be used to hold several cables or larger cables,a narrow tray 40 as shown in FIG. 3B would be selected when there arefewer cables or smaller cables to be carried. The cable tray 44 in FIG.3C is for carrying a single cable or guided or clamped cables, bundlesor tubes, and the like.

The term “cable” will be used herein to indicate anything carried by acable tray; including wiring, electrical cables, telephone cables, pipesfor fluid delivery, pneumatic tubing, optical fibers, optical fiberbundles, and the like. The term “tray” or “cable tray” refers to a metaltray with a floor and a wall on at least one side of the floor. The trayserves as a physical support and confinement for at least one cablerunning from one end of the tray to the other.

Redirectors 20 and 28 and cable trays 36, 40, and 44 may have round,square, slotted, or a combination of round, square, and slotted holesformed therein to received various types of fasteners (not shown inFIGS. 1-5) that keep cables in place such as clamps or guides and forconnecting tray sections and redirectors.

An example of a horizontal 90-degree redirector base 80, according tothe present disclosure, is shown in perspective in FIG. 4. Horizontal90-degree redirector base 80 includes a wall 88 made by cutting andforming a blank sheet of metal to have a first side 90 that is longerthan an adjacent, second side 92. When both first side 90 and secondside 92 are bent by 90 degrees with respect to deck 86, the end 82 offirst side 90 will be longer than that of the second side 92 and can befolded against second side 92. End 82 of first side 90 and thecorresponding part of second side 92 against which end 82 is folded canthen be predrilled to make a pair of aligned holes 142 for receiving afastener, such as a bolt 162 and nut 164 or rivet to hold end 82 tosecond side 92. A nut tightened to the end of that bolt through thealigned holes reliably holds side 90, to side 92 and secures corner 84and the outside wall 88 of the 90-degree redirector base 80 seen in FIG.7A and FIG. 7B. In larger redirectors multiple fasteners may benecessary to hold end 82 to second side 92.

Deck 86 of FIG. 4 includes a tab 140 that will engage one curved flangefitting 96 or straight diagonal flange fitting 98, shown in FIGS. 5A and5B, respectively. FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a curved flangefitting 96; FIG. 5B shows a straight diagonal flange fitting 98. Bothcurved flange fitting 96 and diagonal flange fitting 98, as shown,facilitate a cable redirection of 90 degrees, for the sake of thepresent example. Both curved flange fitting 96 and diagonal flangefitting 98 as shown are interchangeable within the same size and type ofcable tray and angle of redirection. Those of ordinary skill willreadily recognize that other angles for redirection are readilyobtainable.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 4 and 5A, deck 86 of redirector 80 ofFIG. 4 may receive a curved flange fitting 96 onto tab 140. Curvedflange fitting 96 includes a curved portion 100, a first end 102 and asecond end 104. First end 102 carries a first flange 108 with at leastone hole 110 formed therein. Second end 104 carries a second flange 112with at least one hole 114. Holes 110, 114, that are provided forattaching curved flange fitting 96 onto tab 140 of deck 86, arepreferably slotted holes to provide flexibility for connectingindustrial components together.

As an alternative to curved flange fitting 96, a diagonal flange fitting98 may be used. As shown in FIG. 5B, straight diagonal flange fitting 98includes a diagonal portion 118, a first end 120 and a second end 122.Diagonal portion 118 meets first end 120 and second end 122 at angles of45 degrees, which together generate the 90-degree redirection ofdiagonal flange fitting 98. First end 120 has a first flange 126 with atleast one hole 128; and second end 122 has a second flange 130 with atleast one hole 132. Curved flange fitting 98 of FIG. 5B attaches to tab140 of deck 86 essentially in the same manner as would curved flangefitting 96 of FIG. 5A.

Also, referring to FIG. 5A, the elevation view of curved flange fitting96 shows first flange 108 and second flange 112. First flange 108 andsecond flange 112 elevate the bottom 116 of curved portion 100 so itclears the top of tab 140 of deck 86 of FIG. 4 when curved flangefitting 96 is being attached to deck 86, and likewise, referring to FIG.5B the elevation view of straight diagonal flange fitting 98 shows firstflange 126 and second flange 130. First flange 126 and second flange 130elevate the bottom 124 of diagonal portion 118 so it clears tab 140 ofdeck 86 of FIG. 4 when diagonal flange fitting 98 is being attached todeck 86. The elevation of the curved portion 100 or diagonal portion 118of each curved flange fitting 96 or diagonal flange fitting 98 enablescurved portion 100 and diagonal portion 118 to fit above tab 140 of FIG.4, respectively, and is a feature of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5C shows an elevation view and a perspective view of the curvedflanged fitting 94, similar to that shown in FIG. 5A, which shows firstflange 204 and second flange 206. Second flange 206 is at an elevationone metal material thickness (dimension A) lower than flange 204. Theelevation difference allows a flange 206 to be stacked below anotherflange of an adjacent curved flange fitting for a narrow multi-trayredirector (tee or cross redirector) having a single row of holes, asshown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11.

FIG. 5D shows a curved flanged fitting 210, similar to that shown inFIG. 5A, except that curved flange fitting has additional mounting holesfor connecting with both legs of each L-shaped tray as shown in FIG. 12Aand FIG. 12B.

FIGS. 6A and 6B, show overhead perspective views to illustrate movingcurved flange fitting 96 into position onto deck 86 of redirector base80 to form a 90-degree redirector of the present disclosure. Curvedflange fitting 96 is moved toward deck 86, with tab 140 centered so itcan slide between first flange 108 and second flange 112. First flange108 and second flange 112 slide under deck 86 as curved portion 100slides over tab 140 of deck 86 and is positioned so that holes 134, 136,in deck 86 are aligned with at least one hole 110 in first flange 108 orat least one hole 114 in second flange 112, respectively.

FIG. 6C shows a completely assembled 90-degree wide tray redirector. Allof the components: redirector base 80, curved flange fitting 96, eightsets of fasteners (bolts and nuts) and corner fastener comprise a90-degree redirector kit for connecting two wide trays (not included aspart of the kit).

FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C and 7D show detailed perspective views of a cable tray90-degree redirector assembly 60 with wide tray sections. FIG. 7A showsa top prospective view of a 90-degree redirector assembly 60 with twoconnected wide trays. FIG. 7B is an exploded view of the 90-degreeredirector assembly 60 to detail all components and alignment forassembly, FIG. 7C details an offset or curb feature that can be includedin the design of a curved flange fitting 96 and its relationship toprotect the end of an adjacent tray wall, FIG. 7D shows a bottom view ofthe 90-degree redirector assembly 60. In FIG. 7A, FIG. 7B, and FIG. 7Dbolts 152 and nuts 154 are used to connect first cable tray 148 andsecond cable tray 150 through holes 146 and holes 144 to deck 86 ofredirector base 80. In particular, four bolts 152 and four nuts 154 areused to hold tray 148 to deck 86 of redirector base 80 and four bolts152 and four nuts 154 are used to hold tray 150 to deck 86 of redirectorbase 80. Half of said same eight bolts 152 and eight nuts 154 are alsoused to connect 90-degree curved flange fitting 96 through holes 110 andholes 114 to deck 86 of redirector base 80 as clearly displayed in FIG.7D.

It should be noted that in FIG. 1 a total of eight bolts and nuts areneeded to hold two cable trays to a prior art 90-degree, welded cabletray redirector. FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7D show the same number: eight boltsand nuts, used to hold two cable trays to the present, 90-degree curvedflange fitting 96 the redirector base 80 without any welding needed tocomplete the cable tray redirector components or assembly. The cost andtime to weld horizontal cable tray redirectors has been completelyavoided. Cables (not shown) may be placed onto redirector 80 beginningat first cable tray 148, then across deck 86 and onto second cable tray150. First cable tray 148 and second cable tray 150 are secured toredirector base 80 using bolts 152 entering from the inside of first andsecond cable trays 148 and 150, respectively, and being fastened withnuts 154 from below the cable tray redirector.

As cables are pulled through redirector 80 from first cable tray 148 tosecond cable tray 150, they tend to reduce their radius when changingdirection and to move radially inward toward curved flange fitting 96,in this example. The convex curved surface of portion 100 of curvedflange fitting 96 helps facilitate their movement and limit furthertightening that might damage cables.

FIG. 7C shows a detail of the juncture 160 between curved portion 100and first end 102 of curved flange fitting 96 and the end of theadjacent wall 158 of second cable tray 150. The slight inward offset atthe juncture 160 between curved portion 100 and first end 102 of curvedflange fitting 96 provides a smooth transition and shields the insidecorner 156 of wall 158 at the curve, thereby helping to avoid havingwall 158 extending into the path of a cable as it rounds curved portion100 and reducing the probability of cable damage by providing a smoothertransition between the connected cable tray wall and a curve in a trayredirector assembly. Offsets may be applied at both ends of each90-degree flange fitting where there is a transition between aredirector assembly and a cable tray.

FIG. 7B shows an exploded perspective view that clearly displays thecomponents and assembly of a 90-degree redirector for redirecting widecable tray 90-degrees in either direction.

FIG. 7D shows a bottom perspective view of the 90-degree horizontalredirector assembly 60 of FIG. 7A that more clearly displays theassembly of a curved flange fitting 96 to the deck 86 of 90-degreeredirector base 80 using eight bolts 152 and eight nuts 154, the samebolts 152 and nuts 154 securing the wide cable trays 148 and 150 to the90-degree redirector.

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of 90-degree redirector assembly 64 witha diagonal flange fitting 98 (substituted for a curved flange fitting96) connected to a 90-degree redirector base 80 with bolts 152 and nuts154 used for assembly.

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of a horizontal T-redirector assembly 70with a base 170 and two curved flange fittings 96: first curved flangefitting 96 and second identical curved flange fitting 96, in cooperationwith T-redirector base 170 facilitate joining three intersecting cabletrays, namely, tray 180, tray 182, and tray 184. One T-redirector base170, two 90-degree curve flange fittings 96 with bolts and nuts areprovided as a T-redirector kit. The T-redirector kit is field-assembledwith intersecting cable trays 180, 182, 184.

Similarly, a wide cable tray cross redirector featuring a flat crossredirector base, with four identical 90-degree curved flange fittings 96and sixteen bolts with nuts make up a wide cable tray cross redirectorkit. The wide tray cross redirector kit can be connected to fourintersecting wide cable trays. Generally, identical curved flangefittings 96 are consistently incorporated throughout all wide cable trayredirectors of the same radius bend, within a cable tray run of aconsistent tray pattern, a feature of the present disclosure.

Where cable tray redirectors may be needed for a special or modifiedconfiguration in smaller quantities to satisfy a customer's specificrequirement for a cable tray arrangement, the general design features ofthe present disclosure have an economic advantage for design andfabrication.

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view from below of a narrow cable trayT-redirector assembly 50 similar to the wide tray T-redirector of FIG.9. Unlike intersecting cable trays 180, 182, 184, attached to the widecable tray T-redirector of FIG. 9, FIG. 10 shows three narrow cabletrays: a first narrow cable tray 192, a second narrow cable tray 194,and a third narrow cable tray 196, attached to redirector base 190. Adetail of FIG. 10 is shown in FIG. 11. In FIG. 11, base 190 connects toa first curved flange fitting 96 of FIG. 5A and to a second curvedflange fitting 94 of FIG. 5C. Each of first curved flange fitting 96 andsecond curved flange fitting 94 includes a flange 108, and a flange 206,respectively, supporting narrow cable tray 194. Deck 198 of redirectorbase 190 is in direct contact with narrow cable tray 194. Flange 108 isbelow and in direct contact with deck 198 and flange 206 overlaps and isdirectly below flange 108. FIG. 5A shows a curved flange fitting 96having two flanges 108 and 112 aligned along the same plane. Asdescribed in FIG. 5C curved flange fitting 94 having two flanges 204 and206 on two parallel planes separated by the material thickness of flange204 (flange 108 being of the same material thickness as flange 204)where flange 206 is the one flange thickness below flange 204. Theelevation differences between flange 204 and flange 206 allow for thestacking of flange 206 below flange 108, which is made necessary when anarrow cable tray has only one row of mounting holes. For standard cabletray redirectors of the present disclosure, the use of a curve flangefitting 94 of FIG. 5C is only required for narrow cable tray redirectorsthat connect to three or more narrow cable trays (“T” and “cross”redirectors).

Similarly, a narrow cable tray cross redirector featuring a flat crossredirector base, with four identical 90-degree curved flange fittings 94of FIG. 5C and 8 bolts with nuts make up a narrow cable tray redirectorkit. The cross narrow tray redirector kit can be connected to 4intersecting narrow cable trays.

FIG. 12A shows a 90-degree redirector assembly 200 to which is connectedtwo L-shaped cable trays, namely, L-shaped cable tray 212 and L-shapedcable tray 214. One 90-degree flat redirector base 208, one curvedflange fitting 210 of FIG. 5D and eight bolts 152 and nuts 154 make up a90-degree redirector kit for L-shaped cable trays. The 90-degreeredirector kit for L-shaped cable trays connect to cable trays 212 and214 using the same bolts 152 and nuts 154 that assemble the 90-degreeredirector kit. FIG. 12B shows an exploded perspective view of the90-degree redirector assembly 200 that more clearly displays thecomponents and assembly of a 90-degree redirector for redirectingL-shaped cable tray 90-degrees in either direction.

FIG. 13 shows a stack 220 of ten, prior art (welded) 90-degreehorizontal redirectors 20 of FIG. 1, arranged in pairs, one upside downwith respect to the next, to stack them as efficiently as possible, andyet they do not compactly nest one-within-the-other. While some spacesavings can be gained from the stack presented in FIG. 13, much of thevolume of stack 220 is empty.

FIG. 14 shows a nested stack 228 of curved flange fittings 96 of FIG.5A, of the present disclosure for space-saving shipping or storage.Nested stack 228 uses packing space efficiently by nesting curved flangefittings 96. Nesting enables the number of units stored per unit ofstorage volume to increase as the number of units being storedincreases: 10 parts can be stored more efficiently than one part.Nesting of items means that when two parts are put in adjacentrelationship, at least part of the unused storage volume required tostore the first part is used by the next part, so that the percent ofunused volume in a stack of parts declines as the nesting efficiencyincreases.

FIG. 15 shows a nested stack 234 of horizontal 90-degree redirectorbases 80 of FIG. 4 for space-saving shipping and storage. Horizontal90-degree redirector bases 80 can accept 90-degree flange fittings 96 or98 and two cable trays. Together horizontal redirector bases 80 and90-degree flange fittings of the present disclosure in quantity requireconsiderably less volume for storage and shipping.

FIG. 16 shows a nested stack 240 of horizontal T-redirector bases 170for space-saving shipping and storage. T-redirector bases 170 can accepttwo 90-degree flange fittings 96 or 98 and three cable trays.

The present, non-welded, cable tray redirectors may be provided as“kits” that include all the components specifically designed andselected to work together and assemble into a complete cable trayredirector assembly. Each kit may include: one redirector base; one ormore curved and/or straight diagonal flange fitting; two or moretightenable fasteners for each matching cable tray redirector; andoptionally, auxiliary fasteners to secure additional features of or tothe redirector. The main fasteners serve to secure both the assembly ofthe redirector and connect cable tray sections to the redirector.

Connecting fasteners may be provided together with cable trayredirectors or in certain situations may be provided by others accordingto customer's requirements. Connecting fasteners with low profile headsprovide greater capacity inside the tray system. Additional fastenersmay be provided for tray runs for mounting or installing the cable trayrun or to connect other components to the cable tray run.

Connecting fasteners are preferably bolts and other “tightenable”fasteners, because they are generally better able to maintain theelectrical continuity needed to meet industrial electrical codes andregulations.

If bolts are used for assembling tray redirectors and the tray system,nuts, locking nuts, or flanged locking nuts may be used with or withoutwashers, to create contact pressure and contact surface area, betweenthe reconnector and the tray surfaces for electrical continuity, whichmay be useful to meet industrial electrical codes and regulations.

The fasteners that are used to assemble a cable tray redirector,according to the present disclosure, may be the same fasteners thatconnect cable tray ends to the cable tray redirector.

Fasteners connecting the outside wall corner of an elbow-type redirectorbase (as in corner 84 of redirector base 80) are in addition to thoserequired to connect the cable tray sections to the cable trayredirector.

Where redirecting connectors have larger bend radii or longer walllengths the curved or straight diagonal flange fittings may bereinforced with ribs, fasteners, brackets or the like for rigidity ofthe curved or diagonal flange within the overall assembly.

The elimination of welding, heating or stressing metal in cable traycomponents reduces cost and increases product desirability for use insafety-related products or products used by the nuclear industry orfacilities where there are seismic restrictions.

Since many cable trays have multiple rows of parallel holes and mostcable redirectors connect two tray sections, the quantities ofhorizontal 90° curved flange fittings that require offset or staggeredflanges is normally relatively small. Therefore, curved flange ordiagonal straight flange fittings are generally identical throughout theredirectors of a cable tray run where the cable tray is of the same sizeand configuration and the degree and radius of redirections does notvary. Where more than two intersecting, narrow cable tray sectionsintersect, a combination of higher and lower flanges can be used toconstruct a “T” or cross redirector.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cable tray redirector for use with at least twocable trays, comprising: (a) a deck with a tab and at least two holesformed in said deck adjacent to said tab; (b) a first wall perpendicularto said deck; (c) a second wall perpendicular to said deck and to saidfirst wall; (d) a flange fitting having two, spaced-apart flanges and atleast one hole formed in each flange of said two space-apart flanges,said at least one hole formed in said each flange being registrable withat least one hole of said at least two holes formed in said deckadjacent to said tab, the tab of said deck being below said flangefitting and between said two spaced-apart flanges, wherein said flangefitting includes an inward offset of said at least one flange thickness;and (f) at least one fastener securing each flange of said twospaced-apart flanges of said flange fitting to said deck beside saidtab.
 2. A cable tray redirector of claim 1, wherein said fasteners aremade of the same material as said deck and said flange fitting.
 3. Acable tray redirector of claim 1, wherein said flange fitting includes acurved section between said two spaced-apart flanges.
 4. A cable trayredirector of claim 1, wherein said flange fitting includes a flatsection between said two spaced-apart flanges.
 5. A cable trayredirector of claim 1, wherein said two spaced-apart flanges are joinedto said deck at an angle with respect to each other.
 6. A cable trayredirector of claim 5, wherein said two spaced apart flanges are joinedto said deck at a 90-degree angle with respect to each other.
 7. A cabletray redirector of claim 1, wherein said deck, with said first wall andsaid second wall, is configured to nest with a second deck.
 8. The cabletray redirector of claim 1, wherein said flange fitting is configured tonest with another flange fitting.